January Yard and Garden Tips

Things to do:

Ponds

• Pond Stocking - January is the last month to stock bream in a fishing pond.  See Stocking & Harvesting Recreational Fish Ponds for more information.
• Pond Liming - January is also a good time to lime the pond bottom if necessary.  See Liming Recreational Ponds for information on sampling the bottom and applying lime if needed.

Trees

• Pruning - now is a great time to prune most trees and shrubs.  However, do not prune azalea, dogwood, forsythia, redbud and rhododendron - they should be pruned after they bloom, since they set blooms in the fall.  Almost anything that blooms after June 1 (except oakleaf hydrangea and late-flowering azalea cultivars) can be pruned safely now.  See Pruning Trees and Pruning Shrubs for more information.
• Tree Planting - the winter months when trees are dormant are excellent times to plant.  Be careful that you do not plant them too deep or with too much soil amendment.  See Planting Trees Correctly for information on the proper way to plant a tree.

For more information for January, see This Month in Your Garden's January installment.